JUST WATCHED MMS TO COMPARE, and wrote a post comparing FLM to MMS in the MMS thread; I'll post it again in this thread

just watched the DVD of Murder, My Sweet for the second time: I give it a 7.5/10

I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I think i did last time, probably because I just watched Farewell, My Lovely. FML is clearly my favorite of the two; I thought the color was nice (even though it's a noir movie), bringing out the color of the seedy of side of private-detective work; the production design on FML was amazing, that feels much more real and less on studio sets - even the indoor sets do feel real. (Maybe MMS never felt a need to emphasize the 1940's cuz they were IN the 1940's )

Dick Powell is a good noir guy but he is no Robert Mitchum, who may THE noir guy

a major difference was adding in the Ann Shirley character in MMS - IMO it added nothing to the movie

Mr. Grayle was also a needless character (in FML, Judge Grayle is, though a powerful character, a minor character in the movie and rarely appears; but in MMS, MR. Grayle has a few scenes where he goes on and on)

of course, in 1975, there was no production code: there were lots more killing, you could see the blood, you could see the nudity, hear the profanity -- Amthor was a madame running a brothel in FML; in MMS, he was a quack shrink

Moose in MMS, played by Mike Mazurki, has normal reactions here. Doesn't growl every word he says as O'Halloran does in FML. But O'HAlloran comes across as legitimately stupid. not sure if Mazurki is believable as really being stupid, or if you can tell he is acting stupid. Again, I watched Mzurki's movie immediately after O'Halloran's, so I am comparing everything .....

And again, I must emphasize: Dick Powell was very fine noir man. But few, if any, could go up against Robert Mitchum in a noir battle and win.

I have to give a 7.5/10 to MMS and an 8/10, maybe a half-point higher, to FML

« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 05:59:30 PM by drinkanddestroy »

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There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.

This is so not true. Without her there would be no cute ending where Marlowe kisses "Nolte". And she has one of the great entrances in all of noir.

Comparing this with OK Corral is so wrong-headed: that Western is clearly intended to be a boys only adventure; noir films work best when they have dames, dames, dames. Often, if you have a femme fatale, having a good girl provides a much needed contrast. At the very least, the contrast demonstrates that noir is not misogynist.

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

This is so not true. Without her there would be no cute ending where Marlowe kisses "Nolte". And she has one of the great entrances in all of noir.

Comparing this with OK Corral is so wrong-headed: that Western is clearly intended to be a boys only adventure; noir films work best when they have dames, dames, dames. Often, if you have a femme fatale, having a good girl provides a much needed contrast. At the very least, the contrast demonstrates that noir is not misogynist.

haha I think femme fatales (or "femmes fatale for you nerds) are the opposite of misogynist - they show girls can look out for themselves, can be tough and scheming, aren't just there to fall in love with the man.

Please tell me you are kidding about her having one of the great entrances in all of noir - pretending to be a newspaper reporter, wearing the ugly glasses? (she gets a minor build-up from the funny elevator operator, but that's all)

in FML, that character doesn't exist - Mrs. Grayle/Velma enters the picture simply by having Marlowe find out that the Grayles are the major collectors of fei tsui jade. (okay, it's a little far-fetched, that he'd find out who owns a large collection and figure the necklace musta been stolen from her, but hey, what's not far-fetched in noir), IMO it easily gets to Mrs. Grayle without a needless character coming in there. her character adds nothing to the story - yes, that final scene is cute, but it doesn't make her presence worth it throughout the movie.

I've never read the book so I don't know which version is closer to Chandler's, but in this regard (and most others) I think FML did it right.

« Last Edit: August 26, 2014, 06:36:17 PM by drinkanddestroy »

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There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.

Please tell me you are kidding about her having one of the great entrances in all of noir - pretending to be a newspaper reporter, wearing the ugly glasses? (she gets a minor build-up from the funny elevator operator, but that's all)

That's the second time she shows. Her intro is when Marlowe gets slugged on the back of the head and, just before he passes out, sees this mysterious woman (who thinks he's someone else) peering into his face to see if he's OK. Marlowe then forgets he's seen her--but the audience doesn't. Who the heck is she? That question is in the back of everyone's mind, nagging, until it gets answered. Great, great filmmaking.

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

Although this movie hasn't had a Region 1 DVD release, it has been available for some time via digital download on iTunes (and I assume Amazon, as well).I bought it on iTunes for like 6 bucks. I can pay a few more dollars and buy it again in the "HD" version, which takes up much more space. I've been holding off on it cuz I figure eventually this movie will be released on DVD/BRD. If this new DVD is good and not too expensive, I guess I will buy it. Otherwise, I will wait for the BRD, which I hope will be coming eventually.

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There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.

U.S. label Shout Factory has announced that it will release two classic films starring Robert Mitchum: Dick Richards' Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and Michael Winner's The Big Sleep (1978). The double-feature release will be available for purchase on February 20.

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.